table mounting a plasma cutting torch ?

Sounds like a track burner. A simple motorized cart that carries the torch head along a track. Very useful for long straight cuts. Most commonly used with a Oxy-fuelgas cutting torch, but they can be adapted to plasma cutters, especially if you have the machine torch for your plasma cutter.

Another idea is the one on the Metalwebnews. Oh well it doesn't seem to be there anymore. The guy made a short sliding bar that he could attach a torch to. The bar was mounted from a single top pivot. This pivot was mounted under an arm that came off the back of his cutting table. You can lock the torch as a specific point on the slide and cut circles by rotatling it on the center pivot, or set a angle with the pivot and slide the torch to cut a straight line.

I wish the plans were still there.

That "smooth" action can be tricky. On a related note, I made a cheap rotating table from a $15 winch. Modified it so that the spool shaft stuck out one side and had a 2" round table attached. Various quick made adaptors bolt to the table. Clamp the work down, sit the (MIG) nozzle in an adjustable holder, and crank the winch handle. Speed control is excellent, ground path to the work is through the gear teeth and shaft bearings. Not pretty, but works surprisingly well.

Wayne

Have you had any trouble with arcing between the gears or in the bearings? I made something similar for cutting circles with an oxy-fuel torch, and was going to try to set it up for a plasma cutter, but never got the plasma cutter. My plan at the time was to use some type of brush contacting the table for the ground path, since I was afraid of welding the gears together!

Bert

No arcing that I'm aware of. I suppose it works because there are multiple ground paths. Early on I was getting some fizzing of the welds in spots (turned out to be too much anti-spatter spray), so I tried a sort of dragging ground connector. The extra friction definitely interfered with smooth rotation, but I'm sure that something less primitive than I tried would work.

Wayne

any body got a plan or picture to share ?

thanks